Vast Food: Restaurants Urged To Cut Portions

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Restaurants should cut portion sizes or charge more for large servings to help reduce food waste and fight obesity, experts have said.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said the measures would also mean significant savings for food outlets and catering firms.

Jenny Morris, policy officer at the professional body for environmental and public health, told Sky News: "Many of us eat too much.

"The portions we expect to see are too big.

"It seems obvious to me, that an easy solution is to only produce the amount of food that is going to be consumed or that is needed."

She also added that there was some rationale for restaurants to charge a premium for large servings, in a bid to combat rising obesity rates.

Campaigns have sought to encourage consumers to cut back on food waste for years, but the CIEH says the industry itself must drive the changes.

Anthony Worrall Thompson says 97p per customer is lost in food waste

"I think that it is business that needs to lead on it because it is business that is in control," Ms Morris said.

"It hasn't always been the focus up until now."

While big business has begun to measure appropriate portion sizes and reduce food waste, the majority of Britain's food businesses are missing out.

Ms Morris said small and medium-sized restaurants could save hundreds of pounds a week by simply reducing how much meat and produce is wasted.

Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson estimates that 97p per customer is lost in food waste.

"When you add that amongst the thousands of customers we have every year, it's a huge amount of money," he said.

Recycling body WRAP estimates the cost of food being wasted in the UK from the hospitality and food service sector will reach £3bn per year by 2016.

Ms Morris said: "We are in a very privileged situation at the moment where food is relatively cheap. It won't be in the future.

"It doesn't matter whether a business is small or large, it can save a lot of money." 

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Vauxhall Recall: Warning Over Corsa Steering

Vauxhall has warned owners of around 3,000 models to stop driving their vehicles until they have been inspected because of a steering problem.

The UK carmaker said the affected vehicles are Adam and Corsa/Corsavan models registered since May 2014, which had been manufactured with a steering system part "that did not meet specification".

The discovery was made during a routine quality control exercise at two of the firm's manufacturing plants - one in Germany and one in Spain.

The company said it was not aware of any accident or injury related to the issue.

Vauxhall said: "As a precaution, these vehicles should not be driven prior to inspection.

"Vauxhall puts the safety and convenience of its customers first and as this condition concerns their safety, the company is taking immediate action."

The firm said customers could check on their website from today, whether their vehicle was affected, and that it would also contact buyers directly.

It added: "Alternatively customers can call the Vauxhall customer assistance centre for advice on 0800 026 0034 between 9am and 5.30pm."

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Wonga Profit Slumps After Disastrous Year

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Wonga saw its profits slump last year amid trading difficulties in its overseas and small business operations, underlining the task facing its new boss to improve the payday lender's performance.

Sky News has learnt that Wonga is expected to publish annual results for 2013 showing a slump in pre-tax profits from £84.5m last year to roughly £50m in 2013, a source close to the company said.

The period covered by Wonga's results is understood to pre-date the scandal triggered earlier this summer when it emerged that the company had invented a number of law firms in order to pursue customers for unpaid debts.

The episode prompted Wonga to agree with financial regulators to pay at least £2.6m to compensate 45,000 customers for sending them letters from non-existent firms such as Barker and Lowe and Chainey, D'Amato and Shannon.

Wonga's disclosures next week are expected to include a big one-off exceptional charge - possibly running to tens of millions of pounds - to cover legal and regulatory costs related to the fake legal letters scandal, although it is unclear which year the charge will be applied to its accounts.

The controversy marked a nadir for Wonga's reputation, and prompted the company to recruit Andy Haste, a respected City figure, as its executive chairman with a brief to clean up the company's affairs.

Mr Haste will be paid £500,000 a year during an initial period while Wonga seeks a permanent chief executive, after which his annual salary will be reduced to £300,000.

A new chief financial officer is expected to be appointed in the coming days, while Mr Haste has also hired a former RSA colleague, Tara Kneafsey, to run its UK business.

Wonga's small and medium-sized business-lending arm, Everline, is thought to be losing money, as are some of the company's international operations.

Its accounts are also expected to show that Wonga bought back around 2.5m shares from Errol Damelin, the founder who stepped down as chairman earlier this year.

"I want to ensure that the business operates responsibly while providing an effective and reliable service for our customers. I have a clear mandate from the shareholders in Wonga to lead that process, both in the UK and across our international operations," Mr Haste told Sky News in July.

"I have asked all the questions I can think of asking, and I believe I've been made aware of everything," he said.

"Time will tell whether that's the case."

The fall in profits in 2013 may be repeated this year, according to company insiders, because of continued underperformance in parts of Wonga's business.

The City regulator is also bearing down on providers of short-term credit, proposing in July a cap on payday lending meaning that from next January, interest and fees must not exceed 0.8% per day of the amount borrowed.

The Financial Conduct Authority is also imposing a cap on the overall cost of a payday loan so that it cannot exceed 100% of the original sum borrowed.

Asked about Wonga's 2013 results, Damian Peachey, a Wonga spokesman, said the company did not comment on "rumour and speculation" and would not confirm that next week's announcement would cover 2013's audited numbers alone.

He added that Wonga wanted to release its results "in a democratic way".

Last year, the company launched an initiative called OpenWonga, aimed at increasing transparency with stakeholders.

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Low Fare? The £23.7bn Cost Of Return Flight

By James Sillars, Sky News Business

A would-be holidaymaker has spoken of her shock after an online travel agency almost charged her a whopping £23.7bn for two return flights to Portugal.

Marion Sessions, who owns and runs two holiday cottages in Derbyshire with her husband, was about to click 'proceed' on the eDreams website for flights from Birmingham to Faro for them when she noticed the return baggage check-in cost.

She told friends on Facebook: "How's this for a great price?

"I have just tried to book cheap flights... for a weekend trip to stay with some good friends.

"I Googled 'cheap flights to Faro', found eDreams ('Great Trips at Great Prices' is their slogan) were offering the best, with Ryanair and Monarch Airlines, at a cost for the two of us of £164.07.

"I duly booked and fortunately was alert enough to realise - before clicking 'confirm' that the final cost was the truly - as advertised - great price of £23,659,382,125.95!!!"

She added: "Don't think our current account would have run to it this month..."

Neither Ryanair nor Monarch are responsible for eDreams' pricing or booking processes.

This is not the first time eDreams has come under pressure on an issue of price.

In February, research by Which? suggested travellers booking flights or holidays with the company could face additional service charges of up to 25% of the headline ticket price.

MoneySupermarket.com reported last year that easyJet had referred eDreams to regulators, claiming it was overcharging customers for tickets on its flights.

Mrs Sessions, who has written a blog on her experience, told Sky News: "I thought i must have made a mistake.

"I couldn't believe my eyes but it was so lucky I noticed the final price.

"I shudder to think what may have happened had I agreed... I tried to contact them but there was an out-of-hours message."

A spokeswoman for Spain-based eDreams told Sky News: "eDreams would like to apologise to Mrs Sessions for any inconvenience caused.

"We are continuing to investigate, however it appears to be an isolated incident that we have been unable to replicate.  If it is a bug, we will find it and make every effort to fix it immediately.

"eDreams would like to re-iterate that at no point was there any attempt to make this purchase. We would also like to provide the added re-assurance that any attempt at a transaction of this size would automatically be rejected by our systems and unable to proceed."

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GSK To Name RBS's Hampton As Next Chairman

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain's biggest pharmaceuticals company, will this week name Sir Philip Hampton as its next chairman, just days after it was fined nearly £300m for bribery by Chinese authorities.

Sky News has learnt that GSK will announce the appointment of Sir Philip as chairman-designate before the weekend, triggering a separate statement from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), where he has chaired the board since its taxpayer bailout in 2008.

Sir Philip, one of the UK's leading business figures, is expected to join GSK's board as a non-executive director around the turn of the year before taking over from Sir Christopher Gent sometime after the general election in May.

In a statement issued to Sky News on Wednesday, a GSK spokesman said: "Succession planning for the chairman is well underway."

The confirmation of Sky News' disclosure that Sir Philip was the leading candidate to replace Sir Christopher is likely to be welcomed by GSK investors, who are keen for the company's board to be strengthened with greater corporate experience.

A former finance director of BT, Sir Philip has also held the same role at British Gas and British Steel.

The process of recruiting a new chairman at GSK has been complicated by RBS's need to appoint a successor to Sir Philip, who is likely to want to know which party will form the next government given the state's majority stake in the bank.

Parachuted in alongside Stephen Hester shortly after the bank's £45.5bn taxpayer rescue in early 2009, Sir Philip will mark his sixth anniversary at RBS next February.

He has said repeatedly that company chairmen should look to serve for between five and seven years, although colleagues say he is unlikely to leave RBS until his successor is in place.

Sky News revealed last month that RBS's board had hired Egon Zehnder International, a headhunter, to identify its next chairman.

The Government remains years away from a full privatisation of its majority stake in the bank, while RBS faces uncertainty from a UK competition inquiry and regulatory probes covering alleged manipulation in foreign exchange markets.

Nonetheless, Sir Philip's in-tray at GSK could prove to be only slightly less challenging than the one with which he has been confronted during his RBS tenure.

One of his most important tasks at the drug-maker will be to identify a successor over the long term to Sir Andrew Witty, the chief executive, who apologised last week for GSK's misdemeanours in China.

The company's shares have also suffered, having warned on profits during the summer as the company seeks new blockbuster products to offset a decline in sales of Advair, its best-selling asthma medicine.

Mark Reilly, the former head of GSK's operations in China, was handed a three-year suspended jail term by Chinese prosecutors for bribing doctors to prescribe GSK products.

He will be deported back to the UK following his trial.

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BlackBerry Launches Square 'Passport' Phone

Struggling BlackBerry has pinned its hopes on a new smartphone with a large square screen.

The Passport device was unveiled in Toronto, Canada, and its unconventional design features a touch-sensitive tactile keyboard alongside a 4.5-inch square HD screen.

The screen width fits 60 characters rather than the 40 seen on a rectangular five-inch device, making it ideal for reading ebooks and viewing documents.

John Chen introduces the Passport at the launch event in Toronto

The company has pitched the device at professionals.

Chief executive John Chen said: "As we set out to design BlackBerry Passport, we were guided by a simple yet challenging idea - to set aside the limitations of traditional design and to instead simply build a device that fundamentally changes the way business professionals get work done on their smartphone.

"The BlackBerry Passport was created to drive productivity and to break through the sea of rectangular-screen, all-touch devices."

The device is optimised for reading documents

It is a key moment for the company, which was once the leading smartphone maker with its business-approved handsets.

But earlier this year, BlackBerry announced a quarterly loss of $423m (£254m) after suffering a revenue drop of more than 60%.

The device will be priced at £529 in the UK and $599 in the US.

The phone is now on sale in the UK and will be available in more than 30 countries by the end of the year.

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Singaporean Fund Revs Up £2bn RAC Takeover

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A Singaporean state fund is in secret talks to lead a £2bn-plus takeover of the RAC, a move that would end the prospect of a stock market listing of the famous roadside recovery business.

Sky News can reveal that the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) is discussing with Carlyle, the RAC's existing owner, a deal that could be struck within days.

GIC is understood to have been interested in participating in a takeover of the RAC, which has 8.2 million members, for some time, having been enticed by the company's stable cashflows and growth prospects, according to a person close to the situation.

The precise structure of a deal had not been finalised on Tuesday, and it was unclear whether GIC wanted to buy the motoring organisation, whose heritage dates back to the late 19th Century, on its own or in conjunction with other investors.

CVC Capital Partners, the biggest shareholder in Formula One motor racing, is also understood to have expressed interest in buying the RAC.

An insider said it was possible that GIC would instead take a large minority stake in the RAC ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

GIC, which manages assets worth tens of billions of pounds, is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, and has become one of the most prolific Asian investors in the UK.

The fund was among a group of controversial so-called priority investors in Royal Mail when it was privatised almost a year ago, while it also owns shares in other listed UK companies such as SSP, the catering group.

Insiders said that RAC's board would meet in the coming days to decide whether to press the button on a stock market listing or pursue a sale.

The AA, its larger rival, reported half-year results on Tuesday which sent its shares up by 4%.

A flotation has been seen as the likeliest exit route for Carlyle, with more than a handful of investment banks lined up to lead a listing and a new board of heavyweight directors appointed last month.

Sky News revealed in August that Sir Mike Rake, the CBI president and chairman of BT Group, was to become the RAC's new chairman, replacing Rob Templeman, the prominent businessman who earned windfalls by turning around retailers including Debenhams and Homebase.

The RAC's chief executive is Chris Woodhouse, with whom Mr Templeman worked at Debenhams.

Aviva sold the RAC in 2011 to focus on its core insurance operations but was widely regarded to have undervalued the RAC by offloading it for £1bn.

Last November, the RAC paid its owners a £163m dividend, while the company made £142m in pre-tax profit last year, almost double its 2010 earnings.

The RAC and CVC declined to comment while GIC could not be reached.

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Pubs And Bars Slash Prices In VAT Cut Campaign

Thousands of pubs, bars and restaurants will slash their prices today as part of a campaign to cut VAT.

Tax Equality day - which will see 15,000 establishments reduce the price of food and drink by 7.5%, has been launched to show the benefits of cutting VAT.

Jacques Borel, the man behind the campaign, has managed to get VAT cuts in a number of European countries, including France, Germany, Belgium and Finland.

"Our message is clear - a reduction in the level of VAT on a long-term basis will generate growth and create jobs in the important leisure and hospitality sector," he said.

"At present all food and drink in pubs is subject to 20% VAT, compared to supermarkets which benefit from a zero VAT rate."

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We are committed to supporting the leisure and hospitality industry and have cut the tax on a typical pint of beer by one penny at Budget 2013 and by a further one penny at Budget 2014, making a pint of beer 8p cheaper than under inherited duty plans.

"We are also providing additional support to businesses in a number of ways.

"For example, from April 2014 businesses and charities have been able to benefit from up to £2,000 off their employer national insurance contributions bill and over £1bn of business rates support has been provided."

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Tesco Profit Error: Could Something Be Amiss?

By Ian King, Business Presenter

Even from a lesser company, three profits warnings inside a year would be startling.

Coming from a blue-chip stalwart like Tesco, it is nothing short of astonishing.

In issuing a profits warning on top of a profits warning, Britain's biggest food retailer almost seems to be taking to an extreme the strategy so commonly seen in its stores, with three for the price of two.

So what exactly has Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, uncovered?

Well, in its own words, Tesco has identified an overstatement of its expected profit for the half year, principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs.

In other words, the reporting of costs incurred in the first half of the year appears to have been delayed so they are pushed into the second half, while profits enjoyed during the second half of the year appear to have been brought forward into the first half.

Mr Lewis' response indicates there may be more to this mistake

It is unclear what kind of activities generated these profits but commercial income, with regard to supermarkets, could mean rebates from third-party suppliers or payments from those suppliers to incentivise Tesco to give their goods better positions when they are displayed in its stores.

This latter practice is common place in the supermarket sector and, having worked previously at Unilever, Mr Lewis will be familiar with it.

The overall effect of these two actions will have been to pretty up Tesco's first-half numbers.

Cynics will suggest Mr Lewis has every reason to restate the numbers lower - after all, the period, the six months to August 23, was when his predecessor, Philip Clarke, was at the helm.

Some would say it is in Mr Lewis's interests to ensure that period is painted in as bad a light as possible in order to make any subsequent turnaround under him look better.

Tesco shares have fallen over 40% in the last year

It's known as "kitchen sinking" in the City - where every possible bad bit of news, including the proverbial kitchen sink, is thrown into the accounts to make them look bad.

But the sheer size of this overstatement, £250m, would suggest this is a bit more serious.

So is Mr Lewis' response: the suspension of four of Tesco's UK executives, his recruitment of the top City lawyers Freshfields to investigate and his hiring of outside auditors from Deloitte - Tesco's regular auditor is PwC - to examine what has happened.

At this time, there is no suggestion that anything illegal has been happening. After all, all businesses occasionally recognise revenues early or take their time to recognise costs in the accounts.

Yet the sheer aggression of the accounting policy in this instance and Mr Lewis' response to discovering it rather suggests he thinks something may be amiss.

And, with plenty of American investors - who tend to be more litigious than their European counterparts - on Tesco's shareholder base,  he is doing the prudent thing in checking this out as thoroughly as possible.

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Tesco Suspends Bosses Over £250m Profit Error

Tesco Profit Error: Could Something Be Amiss?

Updated: 5:42pm UK, Monday 22 September 2014

By Ian King, Business Presenter

Even from a lesser company, three profits warnings inside a year would be startling.

Coming from a blue-chip stalwart like Tesco, it is nothing short of astonishing.

In issuing a profits warning on top of a profits warning, Britain's biggest food retailer almost seems to be taking to an extreme the strategy so commonly seen in its stores, with three for the price of two.

So what exactly has Dave Lewis, the new chief executive, uncovered?

Well, in its own words, Tesco has identified an overstatement of its expected profit for the half year, principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs.

In other words, the reporting of costs incurred in the first half of the year appears to have been delayed so they are pushed into the second half, while profits enjoyed during the second half of the year appear to have been brought forward into the first half.

It is unclear what kind of activities generated these profits but commercial income, with regard to supermarkets, could mean rebates from third-party suppliers or payments from those suppliers to incentivise Tesco to give their goods better positions when they are displayed in its stores.

This latter practice is common place in the supermarket sector and, having worked previously at Unilever, Mr Lewis will be familiar with it.

The overall effect of these two actions will have been to pretty up Tesco's first-half numbers.

Cynics will suggest Mr Lewis has every reason to restate the numbers lower - after all, the period, the six months to August 23, was when his predecessor, Philip Clarke, was at the helm.

Some would say it is in Mr Lewis's interests to ensure that period is painted in as bad a light as possible in order to make any subsequent turnaround under him look better.

It's known as "kitchen sinking" in the City - where every possible bad bit of news, including the proverbial kitchen sink, is thrown into the accounts to make them look bad.

But the sheer size of this overstatement, £250m, would suggest this is a bit more serious.

So is Mr Lewis' response: the suspension of four of Tesco's UK executives, his recruitment of the top City lawyers Freshfields to investigate and his hiring of outside auditors from Deloitte - Tesco's regular auditor is PwC - to examine what has happened.

At this time, there is no suggestion that anything illegal has been happening. After all, all businesses occasionally recognise revenues early or take their time to recognise costs in the accounts.

Yet the sheer aggression of the accounting policy in this instance and Mr Lewis' response to discovering it rather suggests he thinks something may be amiss.

And, with plenty of American investors - who tend to be more litigious than their European counterparts - on Tesco's shareholder base,  he is doing the prudent thing in checking this out as thoroughly as possible.

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